National Trust for Historic Preservation in the United States v. NPS

── National Trust for Historic Preservation in the United States v. NPS ── Court: Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit Date: April 11, 2026 Category: General United States Court of Appeals FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA CIRCUIT ____________ No. 26-5101 September Term, 2025 1:25-cv-04316-RJL Filed On: April 11, 2026 National Trust for Historic Preservation in the United States, Appellee v. National Park Service, et al., Appellants ------------------------------ Consolidated with 26-5108 BEFORE: Millett, Rao*, and Garcia, Circuit Judges ORDER Upon consideration of the emergency motion for a stay, which includes a request for a 14-day administrative stay, the supplement to the motion, the opposition to the motion, and the reply, it is ORDERED that the district court’s stay of its March 31, 2026 preliminary injunction be extended to April 17, 2026. It is FURTHER ORDERED, on the court’s own motion, that these cases be remanded to the district court for further proceedings. On July 31, 2025, the President announced plans to build a 90,000 square-foot ballroom at the site of the White House’s East Wing to be paid for by private donors. Add. 92-93. The President assured that he was “fully committed to working with the appropriate organizations to preserv[e] the special history of the White House[.]” Add. 57. Then, on October 20, 2025, “without advance notice[,]” the President posted on social media that “ground ha[d] been broken[.]” Add. 58. Within three days, the East Wing was completely demolished. Add. 93. * A dissenting statement of Circuit Judge Rao is attached.  United States Court of Appeals FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA CIRCUIT ____________ No. 26-5101 September Term, 2025 The National Trust for Historic Preservation in the United States then filed this suit in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia and moved for a temporary restraining order. Add. 93; ECF Nos. 1, 2. In opposing the National Trust’s motion, Defendants indicated that “nothing about the ballroom ha[d] been finalized,” Add. 41, that below-ground construction would not lock in the above-ground ballroom’s size, scale, or design, TRO Hr’g Tr., ECF No. 18, at 21:09-21, and that above-ground construction “will not begin until April 2026, at the earliest[,]” Add. 37. The district court declined to issue a temporary restraining order in express reliance on those representations. Add. 41-42. According to Defendants, “a massive excavation and structurally completed site” now lies where the East Wing once stood. Defs.’ Stay Mot. 1. Defendants report that, within the large pit, “bomb shelters, [a] hospital and medical area, protective partitioning, and Top Secret Military installations * * * are built and/or ready to be built, installed and placed.” Id. Meanwhile, Defendants state that above-ground construction of the ballroom itself is scheduled to begin shortly. Id. at 10. On March 31, 2026, the district court granted the National Trust’s motion for a preliminary injunction. Add. 125. The district court concluded that, to the extent the Executive Office of the President or the Office of the Executive Residence had ordered the construction, that action was likely ultra vires because Congress has exclusive constitutional authority over federal property like the White House, and no statute authorized the President to demolish an entire Wing of the White House and replace it with a privately funded ballroom. See Add. 100-114. In addition, to the extent the National Park Service had a role in directing and funding the construction, the district cour